Ashraf Ali

Ashraf Ali

Replacing the rear lights is a wiring nightmare on my Honda Rebel

I know, I know, I’m new to motorcycle maintenance. I thought I could do all the fixes myself. But triaging wiring harnesses to install new lights was NOT on the top of my list.

Close up of wiring harness for tail light.

You can see the disconnected bullet connector hanging. Also, all the plastic and rubber used to protect against fender splashback.

Another close up of the wiring harness

I bought some cheap aftermarket rear lights on Amazon, thinking, “Oh, this should be just plug in play, like installing a bolt.” I was dead wrong.

First, I disassembled the existing housing of the lights. This required some ambidextrous moves with the rear fender, a flat wrench for the nut, and a socket wrench for the bolt. After a good 5 minutes, I was able to disassemble the light cluster.

I don’t know what the engineers at Honda were thinking when they designed such floppy, failure inducing rear lights. The rubber stem doesn’t provide enough support for the heavy lights. As a result, duct tape has become my friend.

The wiring is where the real nightmare begins. There is a tail light wiring harness located under the rear fender, housed in a dusty rubber pouch. I detangled the cables and disconnected the bullet connectors. With no labeling and limited lighting, you have to rely on trial and error to determine the light.

Another issue, I connected my aftermarket light, only for the blinking action to not work. Looks like I also need a relay to enable the blinking switching. Sigh.

Coming from the world of plug and play, macgyvering solutions on a motorcycle requires a lot more patience and ingenuity. Still, keep on marching.